


That's a Wrap

by truth_renowned



Category: Agent Carter (TV)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-11
Updated: 2016-12-11
Packaged: 2018-08-31 10:38:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8575090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/truth_renowned/pseuds/truth_renowned
Summary: Peggy has an issue when wrapping Christmas presents.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to the beta extraordinaire geekruminations!

**Christmas Eve**

Daniel looked at his wife over the kitchen table, not believing what he’d heard her say. “Peggy, you mean to tell me that you’ve never wrapped a Christmas present?”

“I’ve never wrapped any present,” she said with a shrug. “When I was old enough to buy presents, the stores would wrap them for me.”

“What about stockings?”

“We had them but never wrapped the gifts. Why bother? You couldn’t see what was in it until you took everything out of the stocking.” She tried to fold one side of the wrapping paper but it ripped right across one of the jolly Santa faces. “Bloody hell.”

“You need patience, Peg. I know that’s a challenge for you.”

“Very funny.” She had one side folded over the box, then turned to the other side but the side she had folded fell back down.

“Fold it up and tape it to the box, then do the other side, and make sure to pull it tight,” he said, unable to keep from chuckling.

She looked up at him. “Quit laughing. I don’t know why we have to do this.”

“It’s tradition, Peggy.”

“It’s not my tradition.”

“It’s our tradition,” he replied. “Or it will be, after today.”

She got the two sides folded around the box and taped, then she turned her attention to the ends. “How am I supposed to do this?”

“Fold the short sides in and then crease them. They’ll look like triangles but with flat tops.”

She eyed him, eyebrow arched. “A flat triangle?”

He showed her the package he was working on, demonstrating the folding and creasing, then cutting the excess off the tops of the triangles. “See, now these will overlap slightly and you can tape one over the other.”

She tried to emulate what he did, folding the sides and creasing them. She cut the excess but cut it too close, so when she tried to fold in the sides, not only did they not overlap, they did not even meet, leaving a large swath of the box showing.

“Ugh! You wrap them.” She scowled at the happy Santa faces mocking her as she shoved the package Daniel’s way. He pushed it right back.

“No, you're helping me. He’s your son, too. And keep your voice down or we’ll wake him.”

“He’s not even three years old, Daniel. He’s not going to know who wrapped what. I don’t even think he’ll care that they’re wrapped. He didn’t last year.”

“He was too young last year to open his own presents. This year he isn’t.” He pointed to the half-wrapped gift. “Get to work, Carter.”

She stuck her tongue out at him but took the package, sighing before attempting to battle the wrapping paper again. She ripped off the paper and started over, cutting far more than necessary from the roll. Daniel bit back a comment about her wasting paper. She took her time, meticulously folding, creasing and taping until she had one package wrapped.

“Looks great,” Daniel commented, handing her a length of bright gold ribbon. “Now do you want to learn how to make a bow?”

She glared at him. “You’re pushing it.”

He laughed. “Okay, okay, I’ll be in charge of the bows. We only have a few more to do. We’ll start an assembly line. You wrap, I’ll bow.”

“Deal,” she said, leaning over and kissing his cheek. Her lips then met his and she gave him a heated, lingering kiss, one that never failed to make his heart leap.

He pulled back from her, his willpower waning but still intact. “Work, Peg, then we’ll play.”

She frowned but grabbed the next package, a toy train set, and handled the wrapping paper roll like a pro.

\-------

**Christmas morning**

Bright and early, Michael Daniel Sousa was out of his bed. Even though it had side rails, he’d long since learned he could climb out. He toddled into his parents’ bedroom and yelled, “Merry Christmas,” which came out as “Mewwy Cwithmath” but still had the desired effect of waking Peggy and Daniel out of a sound sleep.

“Hey, buddy,” Daniel said. “I think Santa came to visit last night.”

Michael’s eyes went wide. “Pwesents?”

“That’s right. Presents!”

Michael ran from the room toward the front of the house.

“I’ve got him,” Peggy said, getting out of bed and putting on her robe.

By the time she made it to the living room, their son was sitting next to the tree, his attention on one of the packages and its bow.

“Michael, wait for Daddy,” she said, sitting next to him and running a hand through his dark, unruly curls, courtesy of his father.

“Daddy! Huwwy!”

“I'm coming,” Daniel yelled back, the sound of his crutch getting closer.

Peggy started placing the gifts in front of Michael. Daniel sat on the couch, then lowered himself to the floor and inched toward them.

“Go ahead, son,” Daniel said. “They’re all for you.”

Peggy saw the look on Michael’s face and instantly knew Daniel was right. Their son’s smile made all of the paper cuts and her husband laughing at her poor wrapping skills worth it. The ferocity with which Michael tore into the packages astounded her, yet the entire time, his eyes were bright and his smile never faded. Peggy fought back tears watching her son’s elation at seeing what was hiding behind the gaudy wrapping paper with each package.

She took Daniel’s hand in hers and squeezed, a silent thank you for somehow knowing that this would happen. Her husband had given her a gift not sold in stores, one she always would remember.


End file.
